Breakaway
by xcaitlinnnnn
Summary: Bella becomes a runaway bride and ends up meeting a mysterious stranger. AH/AU/a bit OOC
1. Lazy Eye

**Disclaimer**: Stephenie Meyer owns all characters, of course.

-

"I've been waiting,

I've been waiting for this moment all my life,

But it's not quite right."

-Silversun Pickups

-

"Oh, Bella, your hair looks so pretty!" Angela gushed, as she fingered one of my curls.

"And your lipstick is perfect. I _told _you it would match your complexion," Jessica remarked, indignantly.

I blushed, looking down at the floor.

"Out of my way. Maid of honor coming through," a tinny voice barked.

Both girls parted quickly to make room for Alice, my best friend. I'm pretty sure they had become deathly afraid of my maid of honor throughout the whole planning of the wedding. She could come off as a bit...intense. I'm pretty sure she almost bit Jessica's head off when the bridesmaid critiqued the cut of her dress.

"Oh, Bella," she smiled as she stopped in front of me. "You look so beautiful. Jake's gonna fall in love all over again."

I sighed, gazing at myself in the reflection of the mirror.

'_Beautiful_', they called the sparkling white dress that dragged on the floor; the hair that had been styled for hours, just so that it would look 'natural'; the makeup that was plastered to my face; the heels that I would no doubt trip in. I did not see beautiful. I saw a girl in a white dress, feeling more out place than she'd ever felt in her entire life.

In less than a half hour, my name would be Isabella Marie Black.

My hands shook and my palms began to sweat. I tried to take a few deep breaths so that my nerves would not escalate into a full panic attack, but it was as if there was not enough oxygen in the room to fill my lungs.

The door creaked open and my mother, Renee, popped her head into the room. "Hey, girls," she smiled. "Could you give Bella and I a minute? I'd like to talk to her."

I was appreciative of this interruption. Maybe I wouldn't have to faint just yet.

Alice did not hesitate and quickly grabbed Jessica and Angela, dragging them out of the room.

Renee shot her a grateful glance and strode over to me.

"Oh, Bella...," she grabbed both of my hands, squeezing them gently. "There are no words to describe how gorgeous you look right now."

I smiled, mumbling my thanks.

"You're really doing this, huh? My baby girl is actually getting married." Her eyes sparkled with tears.

I was afraid to respond. Too afraid of my answer.

She sighed, running her fingers through my hair. "You must really love him. I know that your father and I never set the best example for you, as far as marriage goes, but I want you to know that marriage is very special. It means that you love the person more than the whole world; that you can't think of anything you want to do more than spend the rest of your lives together. When I married Charlie, I never felt that way. Ever. And it was a mistake to marry him, knowing that I didn't feel for him the way that I should." She sighed, sadly. "I am so happy for you though. This is the best day of your life." She smiled, a tear running over her cheek.

I felt my eyes well up too, but not out of happiness.

'_What if I don't feel that way? What if I don't love him like I should_?', I wanted to ask. But I couldn't. The words would not form on my tongue. I didn't want her to be dissapointed that I wasn't as happy as she thought.

There was a knock at the door and Alice came in. "Sorry to interrupt, but I think we're going to get started soon."

"Oh, alright," Renee answered. "Well, I better go get seated. I love you, Bella. No matter what." She gave me a serious look, before hugging me tightly and leaving the room. Perhaps she knew more about what I was feeling than she had let on.

"Are you ready, Bella?" Alice asked.

Was I ready? I tried to take a deep breath, but I still could not get enough oxygen. God, what was up with the air in here? Someone should fix that.

Oh, no...oh, no. I was not ready. I was ready to run, go anywhere except down that aisle.

Oh, Jake. I loved him. I did. But I knew in my heart of hearts that I did not want to spend the rest of my life with him.

I could not marry Jacob Black.

These thoughts hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Bella? Bella, are you okay?" Alice asked, frantically.

I was hyperventilating and my body would not stop shaking.

I ignored her question and grabbed a post-it and pen from the desk. I scribbled a short note. It was hard to read because my hand was shaking so much, but it was enough. No, of course it wasn't enough. No words would be enough to explain how I was feeling to the only man that I had ever loved.

I quickly folded it and shoved the note into Alice's hands. "Please give this to him."

"What? To Jake? What is this? Bella?" Alice looked terribly confused, but I couldn't explain it to her. I could barely explain what I was doing to myself.

I shook my head. "Please just give this to Jacob, Alice. Please. I'm begging you." My eyes were pleading.

Alice set her lips in a tight line. "Okay," she murmured. "But why? Just explain it to me, Bella. You're my best friend. You can trust me."

"I know. I'm sorry, but I can't. Please." I wasn't going to be able to speak much longer before I passed out.

Alice gave me a hurt look before leaving the room. Finally, I was alone.

It would be easy to leave; there was a side exit door right next to the room.

They really shouldn't make it so easy for brides to escape. Bad planning.

I quickly threw off the heels I was wearing and replaced them with a pair of Chuck Taylor's.

Finally, I made it out of the door and into the frigid cold outside. I shivered as the wind hit my cheeks.

And then I ran. Away from the church; away from my friends; away from my Jacob; away from the future that had been so certain until now.

Tears streamed down my face and still, there was not enough air in my lungs.

I don't know how long I ran for or how I didn't trip and fall along the way, but I had to stop. I was freezing and tired and I felt as if I were about to collapse.

The building I had stopped in front of was a small bar. It looked dark and empty inside, which I suppose would be expected at noon on a Saturday.

I wasn't exactly the bar type, but I made my way inside, nonetheless. I had to get out of the cold and sit down before my legs crumpled beneath me.

Inside, there were not many people. A few stragglers from the night before, I presumed, and a couple sitting in a booth, were all I noticed. I took a seat on the barstool and ordered a drink. I wasn't a big drinker but I was pretty sure that running away from your own wedding was a good cause to let loose a little.

I sipped the alcohol, ignoring the stares. I knew I probably looked crazy in my wedding dress and sneakers, but I hardly cared.

Next to me, someone sat down, the bottom of their stool scraping the floor.

"Excuse me, miss?" the person said. His voice was velvety and smooth. I was about to turn and tell him to screw off until I looked at him and was met with a shocking sight.

The man was beautiful. He had tousled bronze hair and bright green eyes. He was tall and muscular, yet thin. He smiled gently when I turned towards him.

"Curiosity ate the cat but do you mind me asking why you are wearing a wedding gown in a bar, by yourself? With Converse, nonetheless?" He smirked.

"I'm supposed to be getting married, right now." I replied, looking down, ashamed.

"Change of plans?" He raised an eyebrow.

I grimaced. "Something like that."

"Well, if it helps...my girlfriend just dumped me like yesterday's trash...also dumping my clothes out of the window of our apartment on the fifth floor. Not exactly the easiest to clean up. I guess I'm just happy that she didn't throw _me_ out the window."

I couldn't help but laugh at the picture he'd put in my head. "I'm sorry." I gave him an apologetic look.

"Don't worry about it." He shrugged. Suddenly, the song, 'Cold Hard Bitch' came onto the sound system. The man laughed; it sounded lovely. "Ah, perfect song." He grinned and began to sing along, making his voice sound unnaturally out of tune.

I couldn't help but giggle and began to sing along with him.

We had finally finished the last chorus and were both doubled over in laughter.

I was perplexed by this stranger who had so easily changed my mood from dour to cheery. Well, not cheery....but at least I didn't feel like jumping off a cliff any time soon.

He smiled at me, a twinkle in his eye. "I'm Edward Cullen."

"Bella." I replied, blushing.

Edward smiled, reaching a hand out towards me. I held my breath, not understanding what he was doing. His hand touched my cheek before brushing a piece of my hair behind my ear. I exhaled.

Suddenly, I could breathe again.

-

"I've been waiting

I've been waiting for this moment..."

-

**A/N**: This is my first attempt at a chaptered fic, so I'd really appreciate reviews and such. Hopefully, this wasn't too bad heh. Anyways, the song is "Lazy Eye", by Silversun Pickups. Great song - I think it fit this chapter perfectly.


	2. Pinch Me

**A/N**: Hey, quick update, right? Also, I'm sorry I put this up twice...I changed the song and I hadn't realized you could replace chapters. Hah, well, enjoy!

-

"It's like a dream - you try to remember but it's gone, then you

Try to scream but it only comes out as a yawn."

-Barenaked Ladies

-

My eyes fluttered open and I stared up at the ceiling.

Wait. Where were the cracks and the splatter of paint that I'd gotten on the corner when Alice had actually let me decorate my own room?

My brow furrowed as I realized I had no idea where I was. I sat up in bed quickly, when I heard a soft groan from beside me. I turned my head slowly and gasped in shock to see there was very shirtless, very beautiful man laying in bed, snoring quietly. My jaw dropped when I peeked under the covers at myself, seeing that I was only wearing the tiny pair of lace panties from yesterday.

Oh, God. Yesterday. My wedding day.

No. I couldn't think about that right now. I had to figure out why I was in bed, half naked, with a stranger sleeping next to me.

Well, I suppose he wasn't exactly a stranger. As I continued to stare at him I could see that it was the man I had met yesterday - Edward Cullen.

I also _very_ vaguely remembered a round of tequila shots, karaoke, and Edward doing the cha-cha slide.

Oh, boy.

I got up from the bed and groaned, finally feeling the effects of the night before. My head throbbed and I felt like I was going to throw up.

'_No, Bella. No puking. Gotta figure out where we are first_,' the voice in my head chided me. I sighed, looking around the room. It was huge and lovely and there were rose petals everywhere and...Oh! I knew where I was.

The honeymoon suite.

Mine and _Jacob's_ honeymoon suite.

I was in our honeymoon suite with another man.

Fabulous. Just friggin' fabulous.

I slipped into the adjoining bathroom, looking for something to wear. There was no way that I was wearing my wedding dress back home, which I assumed was somewhere on the floor in the bedroom. I didn't even want to look at it, much less take it home with me; a remembrance of what a terrible thing I had done. There was a robe hanging on the door and I slid it on, grimacing as I saw that it barely covered my bottom.

I walked back into the bedroom, seeing that Edward was still asleep. He was laying on his stomach and sleeping soundly, a small smile on his peaceful face. I began to wonder what exactly had happened last night; how we had gotten here.

Of course, I knew what had happened between us. It was pretty obvious, seeing that we were both naked in bed together. I frowned and crossed my arms over myself. I felt dirty. I'd slept with another man on my wedding night. Plus, I'd been so drunk that I couldn't even remember it. I sighed, looking at Edward's sleeping form. He was beautiful, that much was certain. It was also apparent that he must've been _really_ drunk to have slept with me. I mean, next to him, I was an ugly duckling.

I knelt next to the bed and watched his tranquil face. I smiled slightly as I ran my palm over his cheek. From what I _could _remember, Edward had been wonderful - smart, funny, and witty. I was grateful that he had been the person that I had run into yesterday.

I smiled sadly. "Goodbye, Edward Cullen." I kissed his forehead quickly and got up, making my way towards the door. I bit my lip and turned around. Maybe I should leave my number for him...

No. I couldn't. It wasn't like he would even care. Someone like Edward would never be interested in me.

I opened the door and walked down the hallway towards the elevator. Luckily, mine and Alice's apartment was only a few blocks away from the hotel. I strode quickly over, ignoring the curious glances at my strange attire. Fifteen minutes later, I had finally made my way up to the floor where our apartment was, and was knocking on the door, since I didn't have a key on me, obviously.

Alice came to the door in record timing, throwing it open and giving me a relieved look.

"Bella!" she exclaimed, flinging her arms around my neck. I chuckled at the pixie's enthusiasm and was surprised when she pulled back, a furious look on her face.

"How could you!" she frowned. "I was worried sick! I had no idea where you were and you didn't come home last night. I thought you were dead!" I tried not to roll my eyes. Alice was always about the dramatics.

"It's fine. I'm _fine_, Alice. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you." I rubbed a hand over my face. I still had a raging headache and Alice's shrieking wasn't helping much.

I quickly changed subjects. "Did you give the note to Jake?"

Alice nodded, finally having nothing to say.

"What did he say? Was he angry? What happened?" I was desperate for details.

"He...didn't say anything. To anyone. He just left." Alice shook her head. "He looked terrible. No one had any idea what was happening. Including me." She shot me a scowl. "My turn for questions." Alice put her hands on her hips, angrily. "What the hell? Why did you leave?"

"I...I had to. I couldn't marry Jake. I love him, but....the thought of marrying him made me want to just run, screaming." My eyes filled with tears. "I hate what I did. I never meant for it to happen like that. I just...I had no other option."

By this time, Alice had pulled me to her, hugging me tightly. "Oh, Bella...", she crooned softly. "Shh. It's okay. I just wish you had told me. I would've understood. Hell, I would've run with you," she grinned.

I chuckled through my tears. "I know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I'll tell you next time I skip out on my wedding," I joked.

Alice suck her tongue out at me. "You better."

I smiled. Maybe things weren't so great right now and maybe, they wouldn't be great for a long, long time. But at least I had my best friend. Alice would always be there for me.

"So, what_ did_ you do last night?" She asked.

I groaned. "You don't want to know." _And I don't really remember_, I added in my head.

She shot me a pointed look and I shook my head. "Seriously. You don't."

Alice sighed. "Okay, fine. You win. Now, I'm gonna go grab every single piece of junk food we own in our kitchen and then we're gonna watch stupid comedies all day, so we can make fun of them." She grinned. "How does that sound?"

I laughed. "Perfect."

-

"It's the perfect time of year

Somewhere far away from here

I feel fine enough, I guess

Considering everything's a mess."

-

**A/N**: Song is "Pinch Me" - Barenaked Ladies. Review please...I'd really like some feedback! :) Also, check out my one-shot, Silly Vampires - it's pure fluff heh.


	3. All We Know

"We've tried so hard to understand, but we can't.

We held the world out in our hands and you ran away."

-

The week passed in a blur.

When I'd checked my phone, there were about thirty missed calls. Most from my mother and none from Jacob.

When I'd called her, she had yelled at me for not telling her how I was feeling, much like Alice, but then explained that, honestly, she was proud of me, that I hadn't conformed to what everyone else wanted; that I had listened to myself.

She'd also told me that I needed to call my guests and apologize for the "inconvenience". I had to bite my tongue from giving her a nasty response; I wasn't in the greatest mood.

When I thought about the past Saturday, I felt....well, absolutely nothing. My mind wouldn't let me focus on it too long, in fear that I might break down. It felt almost as if it had never happened. I'd never hurt Jacob, broke his heart, left him all alone. That's what I tried to keep telling myself so that the guilt wouldn't eat me alive.

I thought about Edward, too. Bits and pieces of our night together flashed in my head once in a while and every time I remembered something, I couldn't help the smile that formed on my face. When someone can make you laugh on one of the worst days of your life, that's special. Edward was special. It made me sad that I would never see him again.

-

Today, I had to go to his apartment. _Jacob's_ apartment. Before the wedding, I'd spent much of my time there, which meant that I had a lot of my stuff there, as well. It wasn't as if my running away had been premeditated, so basically the majority of my belongings were lying all around his apartment still. That is, if he hadn't thrown them out. I grimaced, hoping his anger hadn't gone that far, though I wouldn't blame him if it had.

I was familiar with Jake's working schedule so I picked a time when I knew he'd be out. I really did not want to face him, and I was sure that the feeling was mutual.

At Jake's door, I pulled the spare key I had out of my back pocket and slid it into the lock, pushing the door open. As I looked around the apartment, a sense of sadness washed over me. I'd been here a million times but now, things were different. This was not my second home anymore.

I was about to start my search for all my stuff when I heard the floorboards creak. I panicked. Was there a burglar?

I looked up towards the sound to see Jacob, standing in the hallway outside of our-his, room. He looked awful; his hair was sticking in every direction and looked as if it hadn't been washed in days; his shirt was stained with grease; there were bags under his bloodshot eyes. I winced.

I would've preferred the burglar.

"Bella?" His voice was squeaky. He began to walk towards me, but then stopped abruptly, about ten feet away, as if I had a disease or something.

"I-I didn't think you'd be here," I replied, looking down at my feet, anywhere but at him. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I got some time off for our honeymoon, remember?" He reminded me, his tone bitter and dark.

"Oh," I said, ashamed. "Well, um, I just came by to, um, get some of my stuff. But you know what, I'll go. I don't want to bother you. I'm so sorry." My words came out in a rush. I was desperate to leave.

"No, it's fine. Your crap is over there." He pointed at a huge garbage bag in the corner of the room. I walked over and opened the plastic bag, looking inside at its contents - clothes, toiletries, pictures, letters...everything.

My eyes roamed the apartment, finally noticing that the rooms were completely bare of anything that had to do with me.

Jacob had erased me from his life.

My eyes welled up, my heart breaking. For him, mostly. And for us. For everything that we had once been.

"I'm so sorry, Jake," I whispered. I knew he understood what I was apologizing for.

He did not respond.

"I know that I hurt you," I continued. "And I hate myself for it. But you're one of the best friends I've ever had." I frowned. "I just hope that, someday, you can forgive me and maybe, we can be friends. I really do love you, Jake. I'd hate to lose you forever." I bit my lip. I had never intended to say _any_ of that but it had just sort of...come out. Stupid word vomit.

Jake's face was pained and he looked like he was trying to decide between crying and punching his fist through a wall. "Honestly, Bella," he whispered. "I can hardly even look at you right now, much less even think about being 'friends' in the future." If I hadn't been listening so intently I probably would not even have heard his soft-spoken words.

They were a slap in the face. A slap much deserved, though.

"Of course." I swallowed. "I understand. I'll just, um, go, okay? Goodbye, Jake." I shouldn't be here. I needed to leave.

He didn't say anything.

I quickly grabbed the bag and made my way out, dropping my key on the table.

I didn't even make it to the elevator before my sobs began. Heavy sobs that shook my whole frame; I couldn't stop them from falling.

I was such a horrible person. What had I done? I'd hurt the only person I'd ever loved. The pain he was in was because of _me_.

I hated myself then more than I ever had. Jake had been my best friend since we were in diapers and I had ruined everything.

And the worst part was that I didn't even regret it.

I finally got back to my building, making my way up to our apartment. The sobs still hadn't subsided and my face was soaked with tears. I closed the door behind me and threw the garbage bag on the floor. And then I just fell, collapsed right to the ground.

What had I _done_?

-

"It takes some time to let you go and it shows.

Cause all we know is falling, it falls.  
Remember, cause I know that we won't forget at all.

You never, you never said  
This wasn't what you wanted, was it? Was it?

This isn't what you wanted."

-

**A/N**: Sorry, this was really short. Song is "All We Know" - Paramore. By the way, Bella isn't regretting leaving Jake and she isn't _in_ love with him. She is just feeling really guilty. Okay, just wanted to make that clear lol.


	4. Stars and Boulevards

"It's not like, I ain't trying to get over you

It's just hard to look at all the seasons pass me over too."

-

"Bella...Bella!"

I jumped, swept out of my trance.

"Um, what?" I asked the fierce redhead sitting in front of me.

"We were discussing your article," Victoria spat, exasperated. She was talking about the sad excuse of a story I'd been working on for the past couple weeks on some stupid topic that I had been assigned. I wrote a column each week for the local paper; not exactly my dream job, but it paid the bills.

Victoria sighed, clasping her hands together. "Let's just say that I'm not thrilled. You're talented, Swan. Even I'll admit that. However, your work lately...", she paused. "Well, it's not up to par. I know that you've had some problems in your life lately," She waved her hands in a 'whatever' motion. "But now, it's a problem. It's affecting your work and I cannot have that. So, either get it together or I'll have to find someone who can actually write a story."

I shrunk back, stung. It had been three months since the wedding and personally, I thought I was doing okay. Maybe I was a little sad sometimes, or quiet...but I hadn't thought that it had been affecting anyone else...or my work.

"Are we clear, Ms. Swan?" Victoria asked, narrowing her eyes. She softened her tone. "Look, you're a great writer. Just get past this and you'll be fine." She offered a small, pitying smile.

I gulped and nodded quickly, saying goodbye and ducking out of the office. Luckily, I worked from home and I didn't have to sit in this building any longer.

I was walking through the halls so fast that I crashed abruptly into someone coming from the opposite direction.

I blurted an apology and then smiled as I saw that it was Angela. "Hey, Ang."

Angela also worked for the paper, writing the horoscopes column.

"Bella! It's great to see you. I feel like it's been forever."

I nodded, ducking my head. I knew that it was probably my fault that we hadn't gotten together lately. I'd been isolating myself slightly...okay, a lot.

"Yeah, well, we should do something soon." I forced a smile.

Angela nodded. "How've you been lately?" She asked warily.

"I'm fine." I replied - a reflex. I didn't like the look on her face; the one that said that she felt sorry for me.

We chatted for a few minutes and then said a quick goodbye. It was not long before I was back inside of the apartment. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was nice to be home where no one judged me.

I dropped my stuff on the counter as Alice glided into the room.

"Hey, Bella..." She smiled stiffly, watching me closely. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. How are you?" I raised an eyebrow at her expression.

And then I realized that I knew this expression. Very, very well. It was the same one that Angela wore. And Victoria. And almost everyone I had interacted with in the past four months.

All of them felt sorry for me. _Poor Bella, all alone_. Who were they to pity me? I was fine. Perfectly fine.

Except I wasn't. And I hadn't been. I wasn't even sure why either. I wasn't sad about Jake. I mean, I felt terrible for hurting him, but I wouldn't take anything back if I could. So, what was wrong?

Everything had just been in a sort of lull since the wedding and I had no clue why.

But I wasn't going to let it continue. I hated the pitying and the faces and the fact that it was affecting my work.

I was going to stop this. I had to. I needed a change.

-

I yawned, stretching my arms above my head as I sat up in bed. It was Sunday so I'd slept until ten.

I was surprised to hear voices in the kitchen. Who would be here besides Alice at this time?

I made my way down the hallway into the kitchen and grinned as I saw that it was Emmett who was the special guest. Emmett was Alice's brother. We met when we were kids, so I was almost as close to him as I was to Alice. He was like the brother I'd never had.

I threw my arms around him happily. "Hey, Emmett!"

He hugged me back. "Hey there, Bells!"

Alice made a face and crossed her arms. "What, I don't get tackled as a greeting?"

I stuck my tongue out at her. "I see you all the time, silly."

"Ladies, ladies, no need to fight. There's enough of me to go around." He threw his arms around both of our shoulders.

"Ew, you are _so_ gross." Alice shoved Emmett off as he laughed.

"Oh, right. I forgot you're off the market." He winked as Alice widened her eyes, shooting him a death glare.

"Huh?" I glanced at both of them.

"You didn't tell her yet?" Emmett asked, suddenly looking sheepish.

"Didn't tell me what?" I frowned.

Alice looked down, not answering.

"Little Alice here has wedding bells in her future." Emmett grinned, obviously happy to be the one spreading the news.

My mouth dropped open. "What? With Jasper?" Jasper was Alice's long-term boyfriend.

Alice looked up at me with a worried look and nodded slowly.

I gasped and hugged Alice tightly. "That's so great, Alice! I am so happy for you!" I exclaimed enthusiastically.

To my surprise, Alice was looking at me like I was crazy.

"You're not...mad?" She asked.

I stared at her in confusion. "What? No, of course not. Why on Earth would I be mad at you?"

"I just thought...with everything...and well," She trailed off.

"Don't be ridiculous. I think it's great." I smiled brightly. "So, when did this happen?"

"Last week."

"Now I'm mad."

Alice's brow furrowed. "What? Why?"

"It happened last week? Why wouldn't you tell me then?!" I couldn't believe that we'd seen each other every day and Alice hadn't bothered to tell me that she'd gotten engaged.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She apologized frantically. "I wanted to, but then I didn't think it was the right time and everything is so weird and I thought you'd be bothered by the marriage thing and Jasper wants us to live together but I can't cause then I'd be leaving you and oh, God, I'm such a horrible friend." She spoke so fast that I barely understood everything she was saying.

"Um, Alice. Slow down. Take a breath." I put a hand on her shoulder, guiding her onto a stool. "I'm fine. I'm not mad. I wish you had told me but I understand where you were coming from. About the living situation..." I paused. It had occurred to me that one day Alice and I would not be living together. I hadn't been expecting it right at this moment, but I'd always realized it would happen. Alice and Jasper loved each other and if they wanted to live together, then they should. "I can move out."

Alice gaped at me. "No, no! You don't have to! I can move-" I put a hand over her mouth to stop her.

"Alice, this was your apartment first. If anyone's moving, it's me."

"But it doesn't have to be right now. Or any time soon! Really."

"You're getting married, Alice. I know how much you would love to live with Jasper." I held her hand. "I'm not going to get in the way of that. I'm a big girl. I can make it."

Alice frowned. "I still say you don't have to move right now."

"It's okay. Though I will admit, trying to find an apartment is going to be a pain." I grimaced.

Suddenly, Emmett perked up. He'd been silent through our whole conversation surprisingly.

"I know the perfect place for you!" He practically shouted.

"Really? Where?"

"With me!" He clasped his hands together excitedly.

I raised an eyebrow. "What...?"

"I have an extra bedroom and I just had a guy move in. He's fine though, really. Pretty quiet. But anyways, you've seen my apartment. It's big enough for three people. It's perfect!"

Living with Emmett is something I'd never pictured myself doing. Ever. But what he was offering was great. I wouldn't have to go through the effort of looking for a place or having to live with a stranger. Plus, I was trying to make a change in my life anyways and this would be a perfect way to do it.

"Okay, let's do it." I grinned.

Alice's eyes bugged out. "Are you insane?"

"Alice, it's a really nice offer."

"It's Emmett. _No one_ wants to live with Emmett. I know from personal experience."

"Hey!" Emmett cried. "That's offensive. I've had lots of roommates and none of them have had a problem with me."

Alice did not seem convinced. "You broke down my door."

"I thought there was a fire! You had it locked. What was I supposed to do? Let my own precious sister die? I think not." Emmett replied indignantly.

"You're so full of it. There wasn't even any smoke in the house. You just wanted to piss me off."

"Well, it was pretty hilarious when you tried to attack me. I couldn't even feel your punches."

I laughed at the siblings' bickering as I looked on.

"I think I'd like to live with you, Emmett. As long as you promise to not break down any doors, of course..." I teased.

"Pinky promise." We linked our fingers. Alice stared at both of us in disbelief.

"You're crazy." She remarked, shaking her head.

"I know." I laughed, feeling happier than I had in a while.

"Let's go do some roomie bonding!" Emmett exclaimed, picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder as I shrieked with laughter and begged my new roommate to put me down.

-

"Seems like I'm always on my own

Seems like I'm never coming home"

**A/N**: Song is "Stars and Boulevards" - Augustana. Edward will be in the next chapter I think. This is the longest chapter yet, by the way. Woo! I'm getting there...


	5. C'Mon C'Mon

"On another day c'mon, c'mon

With these ropes I tied can we do no wrong."

-

Two weeks, thirty boxes, and and several hours of packing later, I was finally ready to move out. Emmett's truck was already stuffed with all of my boxes and ready to go. All I needed was to give Alice my key and then we'd be on our way.

I stuck my hand in my back pocket and held out the key to Alice. "Here you go."

Alice's bottom lip trembled as she took the key from me.

Emmett groaned and quickly hurried out the door. "Not a fan of the mushy gushy stuff. I'll be down in the car."

I nodded at him and offered Alice my best smile. Her frown deepened. "Don't look at me like that," I scolded.

Alice crossed her arms. "I told you that you didn't have to move right now."

I sighed. "I'm fine with moving." I felt like we'd had this argument about ten thousand times over the past fourteen days.

"But I don't want to live with Jasper! I want to live with you!"

I laughed, shaking my head. "Don't be ridiculous. You love Jasper and you're going to _love_ living with him, too."

She sniffled. "I know, I know. But..." She threw her arms around me, nearly sending us both crashing to the ground. "Boys are icky and gross and I'm going to miss you so much!" She wailed. "I feel like I'm never going to see you again!" She continued to sob against my chest.

I stared at her blankly. "Alice. We're having dinner later. I'll see you in a few hours."

"It's not the same!" She protested.

"Alice," I chuckled. "We'll see each other all the time. I promise. You're my best friend. I could never live without you."

"Really?" She wiped her eyes.

"Really." I smiled.

"Okay," she finally consented. Suddenly, her features turned serious. "But before you leave, I'm going to have to give you some tips on how to survive living with Emmett..."

-

"That's the last of it, I think." Emmett said, grunting as he placed the last box on the floor of my new room.

It had only taken us about two hours to get everything from the truck. It might've taken a little less time if our other roommate was home and if I wasn't so clumsy going up and down stairs.

"Okay. Thanks, Emmett."

"No, prob." He inclined his head towards the hallway. "Hey, I think I just heard the door. Wanna go meet your new roomie?" Emmett grinned.

"Sure!" I replied happily. I had yet to meet my future roommate. Everything had happened so fast that I'd been too busy packing to come over and introduce myself.

I followed Emmett into the kitchen where a tall, muscular man was drinking a glass of water, his back turned towards us. There was something familiar about his build and his hair, bronze and messy. I searched my brain, trying to remember where I'd seen this person before when he finally turned around.

"Bella," Emmett gestured towards my new roommate. "This is Edward."

-

A million thoughts rushed through my brain at once and I felt like I was going to pass out.

Edward.

Edward Cullen.

The man that I had had sex with only a few months ago.

On my wedding day.

And now I was going to live with him.

I was starting to wonder if someone out there made my life like this just to have a good laugh for themselves. Probably.

Then I thought about Emmett. No, no, no. He could _not_ find out about us. There was just no way. Emmett was like my brother and I didn't want him thinking I was some big slut. I mean, sleeping with some random guy on your wedding day? Not the classiest.

Edward cleared his throat, interrupting my mental breakdown. "I believe we've me-"

"It's great to finally meet you!" I cut in, louder than necessary in the small room.

Edward gave me a weird look and I widened my eyes, hoping to send him some sort of 'please don't say anything stupid and I'll explain later' look. Surprisingly, he seemed to comprehend and smoothly extended his hand for me to take.

"It's nice to meet you as well," he replied curtly.

I shot him a grateful smile.

Emmett ran a hand through his curls. "Unfortunately, I actually have to go back down to the station. Just need to finish up some paperwork and such." Ironically, considering his disregard for the law when we were teenagers, Emmett was a police officer.

I stared at him in shock. He was leaving us alone? In his mind, Edward was a total stranger to me.

"I'll be back in a few hours. You kids play nice, alright?" Emmett winked and quickly headed out the door.

I continued to gape at the spot where Emmett had just left. He was definitely going to pay for this later. Slowly, I turned around to face Edward, biting my lip nervously.

He cleared his throat, taking a seat on one of the barstools next to the island counter.

"Now," He rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt all the way to his elbows. "Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on?"

-

"Now we grieve cause now is gone

Things were good when we were young."

-

**A/N**: Really short, I know. Sorry, but at least Edward's back...yay! This isn't really the way I wanted this chapter to go and I'm not that happy with it, but that's okay. Song is "C'Mon, C'Mon" - The Von Bondies


	6. Runaway

"If you could read between the lines

You would know that time's not on our side

Gotta go, the world is moving, moving

Gotta go, the world is moving way too fast."

-

BPOV

I stumbled backwards, hurt by his harsh tone.

"Look, I had no idea that you were going to be my roommate either."

Edward shook his head. "That's not what I'm talking about. Why couldn't I tell Emmett that we'd met?"

I bit my lip, feeling awkward. "Um, well." I struggled for the right words. "I just think that it would be better for Emmett to be kept in the dark about...us. I just don't want to make him feel...weird." I spoke so slowly that Edward surely must have thought there was something wrong with me. I just wasn't quite sure how to put our little, er, rendezvous, into words that wouldn't make either of us feel uncomfortable.

A look of confusion passed over Edward's face, which was replaced by a flash of anger. Then it just went blank. "Right, okay. I see." He backed up, making his way towards the last room in the apartment, which I assumed was his. "Don't worry. It'll be as if I never existed in your life before today."

"Okay." I nodded. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it." He stared at me for a second, his expression unreadable, before finally stepping into his room and closing the door.

I sighed, leaning my back against the wall. I hope that it wouldn't be too awkward living with Edward. From what I remembered, we'd had a great time together. He was funny and smart and well, absolutely gorgoues. But maybe we could be...friends. Yeah, friends. Friends who had slept together only four months ago but hey, we could make it work....right?

-

EPOV

I closed my door, trying my best not to slam it, before turning the lock.

I couldn't believe it. Bella, the girl that I hadn't stopped thinking about for months, was here. In my apartment. And now we were going to live together.

How could this be? Hadn't Emmett told me her name? Surely I would have recognized it. I remembered him telling me that he had a very close friend that needed a place to stay and that she'd be moving in. Perhaps he had said her name, though, and I hadn't been listening. It was very possible that I had been ignoring him at some point, considering that most of the words that came out of his mouth were strings of profanities and nonsense. Emmett and I had not exactly had the chance to 'bond' since I'd moved in a little less than four months ago.

My thoughts went back to Bella. I had been surprised when she'd cut me off from saying that we already knew each other. I had no idea why she would not want Emmett to know.

When she told me that she wanted to keep our day together from Emmett's knowledge, her intentions became clear to me. She did not want Emmett to know about us because she had a schoolgirl crush on Emmett.

I couldn't believe it. The girl who had been in my dreams, in my thoughts, in everything that I saw, liked another man and now I was going to live with the two of them. Great.

Not that it should've been unclear to me that Bella had no feelings for me that night from the way that she simply left the next morning without giving me any way of contacting her. I laughed bitterly at the memory. The night we'd spent together had been one of the best nights of my life. Bella was gorgeous, intelligent, funny; everything that I could ever hope for in a woman.

It was unnerving to have every thought I had be consumed by a person that I hardly knew. I thought about her laugh, her smile, the way she got more carefree as she downed drink after drink, the way she sang out of tune, the way she looked as she slept next to me, snuggling into the crook of my arm.

When I was with other women, I thought about her, pretended they were Bella. It was sick, really, the obsession I had developed.

And then she'd appeared in the kitchen of my apartment looking more beautiful than my memory gave her credit for. I was completely taken aback, sure that this was fate's way of bringing the girl of my dreams into my life again.

But I was wrong, of course. Bella was not interested in me, that was for sure. And it hurt, but what was a person supposed to do in this kind of situation?

I would be her friend. For me, it was not enough, but at least I could have her in my life, in some way. There was something so special about her; I would take whatever I could get.

I would just have to play it cool, make sure I didn't get too wrapped up in my feelings. That would just make for unnecessary heartbreak. I sighed, laying back on my comforter. We could be friends...right?

-

BPOV

"It's gorgeous, Alice. Really, it is," I assured Alice for the umpteenth time in the past few weeks. I smiled up at her, holding her left hand in my palm. The diamond ring was absolutely breathtaking and it fit Alice perfectly.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it," she mused, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the ring on her wedding finger. "So, enough about me." She waved her hand away. "How's the apartment? Do you miss me yet?"

"Alice, I've been gone, what, a total of seven hours? That's hardly enough time to miss anyone." I giggled as Alice pouted. "Okay, fine, of course I miss you! I'm completely dying without you being around every second of my day!" I teased. "Is that better?" She stuck her tongue out at me.

"What about the other roommate? What's his name? Is he nice? Funny? Hot?" She leaned forward expectantly.

I crossed my arms over myself uncomfortably. I wasn't sure what I was going to tell Alice. I wanted to tell her everything about Edward, but I simply couldn't. Despite their arguments, Alice and Emmett were closer than any siblings I knew. There was no doubt in my mind that she would tell her brother anything. This had never been a problem before, but my relationship, if you could even call it that, with Edward was something that I really did not want Emmett to know about.

"Um, his name is Edward. Yes, he's very nice, I think. I really didn't get to spend much time with him today." I thought about how Edward had kept himself locked in his room the whole time I'd been home. I wondered if he always did that or if it had to do with my presence.

"Is he cute?"

"Yes, he's very handsome." Much too handsome.

"Excuse me," our waiter sidled up to the table, holding out two martinis. "These are from the gentleman sitting by the bar." He gestured towards a blonde who was looking our way. "And this," He slid a napkin to my side of the table. "is for you."

I looked down at the napkin, which read 'Mike Newton', with a ten digit number. I raised an eyebrow at the waiter, who just shrugged and walked away. Alice snatched the napkin away from me, giggling wildly as she examined it.

"Look's like someone's got the hots for ya! I must say, you are lookin' pretty fine tonight." She grinned devilishly at me and I rolled my eyes. "So, are you gonna call him?"

I stared at the number. It had been a very long time since I'd had a date. Too long, but going out with someone who gives their number to random girls at bars? "I don't know. Isn't it kind of weird?"

"Nah, he's cute. I say, go for it. You've got nothing to lose. Plus, I think it would be really good for you to get back out in the dating world, you know?" I was about to argue, but Alice was already programming his number into my phone.

I sighed. Alice was right. It would be healthy for me to go on a date with someone, especially with the way I'd been acting lately. "Fine, I'll call him. But if I have a lousy date, it's all your fault."

Alice continued to grin and ignored me, sliding my cell phone back into my bag.

"I'll be right back. I have to go to the bathroom." I quickly got up, making my way towards the ladies room. I was walking so fast that I slammed right into someone.

"Oh!" Geez, why did I have to keep bumping into people, literally? My clumsiness was beginning to become a problem.

"Oh, hey, sorry," the man apologized, before looking me up and down. I bit my lip, uncomfortable with his inspection. "I'm Eric."

"Bella," I replied.

"Well, Bella, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to get back to my friends. Maybe you could, uh, give me your number and I could, um, call you some time?" From the way he kept fidgeting and avoiding eye contact, it was clear that he didn't do this often.

My first impulse was so say no. Or give him the wrong number at least. Then I thought about Alice's words. It would be good for me to go on a date. Two was even better.

"Okay, I guess," I replied, still unsure of myself. Eric handed me a pen from his pocket and I wrote down my number in his palm. He beamed down at me, obviously thrilled. He even gave me his card, just in case he lost my number, so I could call him.

After finishing in the bathroom, I headed back to mine and Alice's table. I tried to hide the card that I still had in my hand but she saw it before I could shove it in my bag.

"What's this?" She asked, snatching it from me. "Oooh! Someone's business card?"

"Yeah, it's just some guy's." I played it off coolly, hoping she wouldn't make a big deal.

Of course, Alice was almost on the floor, laughing madly. "Damn, Bella," She grinned at me. "You're really on a roll tonight!"

I blushed. These things didn't happen to me. Ever. Maybe it was just someone's way of telling me to get myself back in the dating game.

Or maybe it was a way to distract myself from one of the most attractive and funniest men I'd ever met, who I was now going to be living with, and was the one person that I could certainly not date.

Yeah, that was probably it.

-

"It's time to draw the line

Cross the borders and cross the signs."

-

**A/N**: Song is "Runaway" - My American Heart. I don't know if I'll be doing any more of Edward's POV. Maybe, we'll see.


	7. Wouldn't It Be Nice

"Wouldn't it be nice if we were older

Then we wouldn't have to wait so long."

-

"Yeah-I-had-a-nice-time-okay-night," I quickly muttered, my words blurring together, as I swiftly shut the door in Mike Newton's face.

Okay, it was rude, but completely necessary, especially since I'd repeatedly told him that he didn't need to walk me to my door and no, I did not want to prolong our date.

I sighed, leaning my head back against the shut door. My date with Mike was, well, not what I'd expected. It was more like bringing my new dog to a restaurant. Seriously. The guy kept staring at me like I was a treat or something. I swear I saw him with his tongue hanging out like a puppy at one point.

Though Mike wasn't my cup of tea, our date had been a thousand times better than the one I'd had with Eric Yorkie the night before. The man was bad news. His seemingly naivete was actually a complete farce, as I found out halfway through the appetizer as he checked out every single girl that passed our table, including the waitresses. After we paid the bill (and Eric tried to smoothly slide our waitress his number), he had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to spend the night at his place. Needless to say, I didn't accept the invitation.

I dropped my keys on the kitchen table and was about to head to my room when I heard papers ruffling outside. I turned towards the sound, which was coming from the balcony, surprised. I wouldn't have expected anyone to be home so early on a Saturday night.

I opened the sliding glass door to see Edward lounging on a chair with a book in his hand. His head popped up and he smiled when he saw me. "Hello."

"Hi," I answered quietly.

"How was your date?" He asked. Edward and Emmett had answered the door for Mike when he'd come to pick me up. To my utter embarrassment at the time, Emmett had half-jokingly interrogated Mike on his 'intentions' with me. Even Edward had done the whole big brother charade with his murderous glares towards my date.

"Er, no comment," I grumbled. He raised an eyebrow. "It was pretty horrible. Just like the one last night and probably every date I have from now on." I silently cursed Alice for convincing me that I should go out with Mike and Eric.

Edward chuckled, shaking his head. "Don't be ridiculous. I have confidence that you'll meet someone you like one of these days." He winked and I couldn't help the blush that crept up my neck.

For the past week and a half or so, things had been going fairly well with Edward and I. It had been a bit awkward at first, but I was beginning to feel comfortable talking to him alone and I was sure that we would be good friends soon enough.

At least, as long as I stopped ogling him every time I caught him walking around in the apartment without his shirt on. Gah, bad thoughts, Bella.

"What're you reading?" I nodded at the book in his hands as I leapt up to sit on the edge of the balcony.

Edward rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. "It's yours actually. I found it lying around." He flipped it over so I could see that he was reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

I couldn't help my look of shock. "You know, most guys don't sit at home reading Romeo and Juliet on a Saturday night," I teased.

Edward grimaced. "Yeah, well, how about we keep that between us...I think it might freak Emmett out," he replied, laughing.

I grinned. He was right. Emmett would be unrelenting in taunting Edward if he found out about his interest in Shakespeare. "I can't keep any promises," I joked. "So, how do you like it?"

Edward made a face. "I'm not sure. I can't really say I'm a big fan of Romeo."

I frowned. "What do you mean? What's wrong with Romeo?"

He shrugged. "He just seems quite fickle. Not exactly Prince Charming."

I gaped at him. "You do realize that you're talking about one of the most famous characters in literature, right? Romeo is the kind of a guy any girl would want." I couldn't help but feel offended by his dislike of Romeo. He was one of my favorite literary characters and as a teenager, I'd even had a tiny crush on him.

Edward chuckled. "I'm not impressed."

For the next few hours, we argued about the Shakespearean character, as I strongly tried to defend him, Edward laughing at me the whole time. We talked about other things too, almost everything, actually. Movies, books, our interests. It seemed that we had a lot in common, which was happily surprising. I asked him why he had moved in with Emmett and he told me about breaking up with his girlfriend and how she had kicked him out, which I quickly remembered from the night we had first met. He told me that things had ended because he wouldn't marry her, "the opposite situation of yours", he'd joked. We talked about our dreams, our fears, our families. It reminded me of the night we'd spent together and how easy it had been to like Edward, at least from what I remembered. I didn't know what had come over me, why I was so comfortable talking to someone who I hardly knew.

I yawned as Edward finished telling me a story about going fishing with his father, Edward Sr.

He laughed. "You must be exhausted." He looked down at his watch. "It's almost three in the morning."

"No, no, I'm fine. Keep going," I mumbled drowsily, rubbing my eyes.

Edward smiled and stood up, putting the book under one arm and grabbing my wrist to pull me inside. "C'mon, sleepy-head. Time for bed."

I followed, too tired to argue, as he led me to our rooms.

We reached my door first and I turned the knob as Edward continued down to his room.

I stood awkwardly at my door, wondering what to say to him. He turned around to look at me questioningly.

"Well, um," I started lamely. "It was nice, uh, talking to you."

He smiled. "I enjoyed it as well. We'll have to do it again sometime."

I scratched my arm, thinking about how 'date-like' this all sounded.

"Yeah, I'd like that. Well, g'night." I sighed, pushing my door all the way open.

"Goodnight, Bella," he replied in his velvety voice.

Maybe this whole friends thing was working out just like I'd wanted...

Edward flashed me a crooked grin and my stomach fluttered with butterflies.

Or not.

-

"You know it's gonna make it that much better

When we can say goodnight and stay together."

-

**A/N**: Song is "Wouldn't It Be Nice" - Beach Boys


	8. You And I Both

**A/N**: So, I wrote this on like 5 hours of sleep and I'm too tired to check it over a million times, so I'm sorry if it sucks ahah. Anyways, yeah, this is double the length of last chapter, so I'm quite happy with that! And thank you to everyone who reviews, you guys are awesome.

-

"Was it you who spoke the words

that things would happen but not to me?

Oh, things are gonna happen naturally."

-

Oatmeal...or Cheerios?

Now that was the question.

I grabbed both, not sure which either of the boys preferred.

It had become apparent in the weeks that I'd been living with Edward and Emmett that they weren't the best at grocery shopping on a regular basis and that if I wanted to have something in the fridge other than beer and eggs, I was going to have to put matters into my own hands.

I continued to push the shopping cart down each aisle, grabbing items at random. I grabbed a list out of my back pocket that I'd scribbled down before I'd left and checked it. Hmm, it seemed that I'd gotten everything.

I made my way to the check-out counter where there was a small line and got behind a tall, dark haired man. I squinted at him. For some reason, he seemed familiar, but it was a bit difficult to tell with his back facing me. I pushed the cart forward, staring at his shirt, which had a huge smiley face on the back of it.

There were still a few people in front of me and I found myself drifting off into my own thoughts.

"Hey, you wanna move it before next year? I think I'm growing a beard," some person behind me barked at the guy right in front of me, who had apparently been daydreaming too and hadn't noticed that he was next on line.

Smiley shirt guy turned around, as if to snap back at the contentious man behind me, but he froze when he looked at me, his mouth dropping open.

My mouth dropped right back.

Smiley shirt guy was Jacob. _My_ Jacob.

"Bella," he whispered.

"Any day now!" The guy continued to shout until Jake moved up in line and began placing his items on the counter.

"Hey," I answered.

He swallowed. "How are you?"

"I'm good. What are you doing here?" I couldn't help but be confused, since Jake's apartment wasn't even close to this store.

"Oh, right. I'm here with my-" His reply was cut off short by a squeal from behind me.

"Jake!"

I turned around to see a beautiful girl gliding towards us. She had coppery skin and shimmering black hair that swayed as she walked. When she reached us, I could also see that she was tall enough to make me feel like a dwarf. My self esteem went into a serious decline.

"I almost forgot these. You love them right?" She placed a box of chocolate chip cookies on the moving belt and kissed Jake on the cheek.

Oh, no she did not.

Jake cleared his throat awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, Bella," He gestured to the girl beside him. "This is Leah. Leah, this is Bella."

Leah nodded slowly, giving me the classic once-over. "Ah, right. I've heard all about you." She pursed her lips disapprovingly. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"All good things, I'm sure," I joked. No one laughed.

Jake reached into his pocket for his wallet and handed money over to the cashier.

"So, uh," I started, straining to make conversation. "You guys are friends, or something?"

Honestly, I was more curious about if they were _more_ than friends.

Please say she's not his girlfriend. Please tell me this exotically gorgeous creature is not his girlfriend.

"No, actually, I'm his fiancee," Leah replied, smirking a little as she placed her hand on Jake's back. He shot her an aggravated look and frowned.

What. The. Eff.

Fiancee? His _fiancee_? He was getting married? My eyes flew to the diamond on her left finger. I was so furious that I could feel my hands begin to shake. I quickly tried to compose myself.

"Well, that was quick," I blurted, my angerness overcoming me. Jake and Evil Bitch looked at each other.

He sighed. "I didn't mean for you to find out this way. I'm sorry."

"I'll start getting this stuff in the car. Meet you there?" Evil Bitch interrupted. He nodded and she turned to me. "It was nice meeting you, Bella." I snorted, but shook her hand anyways. She smiled at Jake and squeezed his arm before heading out of the automatic doors.

The cashier began ringing up my items.

"Bella." He stared at me.

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

I crossed my arms over myself. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yup."

He didn't seem fooled.

"It's just," I searched for the right words. "Isn't this a little, um, soon?

He sighed again, running his hands through his hair.

"I love her. Leah, she's..." He trailed off, staring ahead dreamily. I tried not to gag. "She's just so amazing. I've never met anyone like her. After everything that happened with us, she helped me so much. Getting over you was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but being with Leah, I was...okay. I'm just so, so happy, Bella, for the first time in a while. I know for a fact that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with her, so, why wait?"

I handed my credit card over, completely speechless.

I swallowed. "That's great, Jake. I'm really happy for you." To my surprise, I wasn't even lying. For months, it'd been killing me inside, the thought of Jake being so torn up because of what I'd done. But now, he had Leah. Yes, it hurt. A lot, even, but, I mean, I had been in love with him for years. I'd never even seen him with another girl. It was a strange feeling.

His eyes widened in surprise at my reaction. "Really? You're not mad?"

I shook my head. "I can't be mad at you for being happy." I loaded the plastic bags into my cart and we headed outside.

When we reached the sidewalk, he turned to me. "Bella, you don't know how much that means to me. Thank you." To my surprise, he pulled me towards him, hugging me gently. I was too taken aback to respond.

He pulled back. "Maybe, we could, catch up some time soon, get some coffee?"

I nodded. "That would be great."

We smiled at each other, both knowing that these plans would never happen.

"Well, bye, Bells." He waved, walking towards a car across the street.

"Bye, Jake," I whispered, grabbing my cart and heading home.

-

You know things are getting pretty bad when you can't think of anything better to do than sit around, watching corny, romantic comedies and eating unhealthy amounts of ice cream...on a Saturday night.

Yeah, I know. Pathetic.

I sighed, sticking my spoon forcefully into the rock hard ice cream. I was a miserable excuse for a twenty-three year old single woman living in the city.

Stupid Jake. Ugh.

I was still grumbling to myself when a voice interrupted my pity party.

"No hot date?" Edward asked, striding into the living room. He was only wearing sweatpants and a hoodie...yet he still looked like the sexiest man alive. God. Life was just _not_ fair. I could only imagine what _I_ looked like in my ratty PJs and hair thrown up into a messy bun.

Stupid Edward.

"I have two actually," I quipped. "Meet Ben...and Jerry." I held up my pint of Chunky Monkey.

Edward laughed and headed into the kitchen.

"Care to join the pity party?" I asked, except it was pointless, because Edward had already grabbed a spoon and plopped down next to me on the couch.

"Sure," he grinned, digging into the dessert in my lap. "May I ask why, exactly, we are having pity parties for ourselves?"

"Well, I'm not sure why _you_ are. But I am, because I have come to the conclusion that my life, well, sucks." I scooped some more ice cream onto my spoon.

Edward looked amused. "And why is that?"

"For many reasons. My ex-fiancee is already engaged to someone else, I've had two of the most horrible dates in all of dating history, and I'm living with someone that I slept with only a few months ago." My eyes widened as I realized what I'd said. I had definitely not meant to say that last part.

I turned towards him, hoping he wouldn't make this awkward, but I was surprised to see a look of...disappointment on his face. "You slept with Emmett?" he asked softly.

"What? No!"

"Then..what?..." His brow furrowed.

"I was talking about you." I stated in a matter-of-fact way. It took everyting in me not to say "duh" at the end.

"Um, Bella...I've never slept with you..." He spoke slowly, as if to a first grader.

"Yes...you...did." I replied, also dragging out my words.

"Bella, I am 99.9% sure that we have never had sex."

"Well, you're wrong." I frowned. I couldn't believe this. He didn't even remember! I couldn't help but feel a bit of a blow to my self-esteem. Was I really that unmemorable? "Are you forgetting our little night together on my wedding day?"

"We didn't sleep together that night."

"I woke up naked!" I cried.

"Well, if my memory is correct, we _attempted_ to, er, do it...but you fell asleep and so did I. And then, you left the next morning without even leaving your number." I couldn't help but hear the hurt tone in his voice, but I ignored it.

"Oh..." I looked down at my hands, completely humiliated. How could this be? I had been so sure.

To my utter disbelief, Edward began to laugh. No, actually, not just laugh, but almost keel over from cracking up so much. I glared at him.

"Stop laughing," I growled. He ignored me.

Finally, the laughter ceased. "Bella, you are so silly. I can't believe you've been going around thinking that this whole time. No wonder you almost had a coronary when you saw me that first day you moved in."

"I did not!" I argued, frowning at him. He grinned at me.

"You know," Edward began. "I thought that when you wanted to keep all those secrets, it was because you had a thing going on with Emmett, that you liked him, or something."

I made a gagging noise. "Ew. He's, like, my brother." Edward chuckled.

"Hey, for all I knew, you went for the whole incest thing."

I gasped and threw a pillow at his head as hard as I could. "You are so gross."

He laughed, throwing it back. We continued to battle and Edward used his worst weapon.

"Oh, no! Please, stop!" I rasped, as he leaned above me, tickling me senseless. "I forfeit, I forfeit!" Thankfully, his evil hands stopped and I was about to sit up, until I saw that Edward hadn't moved from hovering above me.

He was only inches away and his breath tickled my face. I gulped hard.

"You don't know what you do to me, Bella," he murmured, brushing his fingers through my hair. "I've thought all along that you weren't interested in me because you were too hooked on Emmett. That first night we had together was one of the best nights of my life and I'll never forget it. I've never been around someone who makes me feel the way you do, even when we're just talking. It drives me crazy."

The next thing I knew, Edward's lips were pressed to mine and all I felt was complete bliss. His lips were soft and warm and delicious. I couldn't get enough of his sweet taste and I accepted him gratefully when he licked my lower lip. I wanted to stay this way forever.

Of course, forever isn't exactly an option when you've got another roommate.

Especially when they're turning the lock on the doorknob.

I literally jumped, reluctantly unlocking my lips from Edward's. I quickly moved to the opposite side of the couch, as far away from Edward as possible, and tried to smooth out my hair, which was undoubtedly a mess.

Emmett was through the door a second later and he came into the livingroom.

"Hey, guys." He grinned before jumping over the couch and sitting right in between us. "What are we watching?"

I told him the name of the movie, which I'd hardly been paying any attention to up until this point.

"This is cool," He threw an arm around each of us. "We're like, 'Three's Company', except, you know, opposite."

I nodded, forcing a smile at him, but his comment gave me a reality check. We were three people living together. There was no way that anyhting could happen between Edward and I. It would complicate everything unbelievably.

-

I stared up at the ceiling, completely frustrated. I'd been tossing and turning for hours, trying to fall asleep, but nothing, nada, zilch. I groaned.

I decided to get up and get a drink of water from the sink but when I reached the hallway, I was distracted by a light underneath Edward's door.

I hadn't spoken to Edward for the entire night, despite the fact that he kept throwing me confused glances behind Emmett's back. I ignored him.

I didn't know what to do. The truth was, I liked Edward. A lot. I liked talking to him and laughing with him and _kissing_ him. Oh, yes, I liked that very much.

But there were so many reasons why we shouldn't be together.

So, I wasn't sure why I found myself padding down the hall towards his room and turning the knob. I peeked in and Edward looked up in surprise.

Neither of us spoke as I crawled in next to him under the comforter.

"I'm sorry I'm acting so weirdly." I sighed. "You probably think I'm crazy."

"No, I think you're beautiful." He shot me a lopsided grin as he caressed my face.

"We shouldn't do this. We really shouldn't. I should go back to my room." I stared at him.

"Then go," he replied firmly.

Instead, I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him hard. He responded immediately, crushing me even closer to his body.

Yes, like a stupid teenager, I was following my heart and not my head.

But all I could think about was that I was in this amazing man's arms and for now, that was perfectly fine with me.

-

"Oh, taking your advice

and I'm looking on the bright side.

And balancing out the whole thing."

-

**A/N**: Song is "You and I Both" - Jason Mraz


	9. Halo

**A/N**: Hey thur. Sorry this chapter took a while, school was busy. Anyways, thanks so much for the reviews last chapter! They were great and definitely made me feel better as I attempted to write an essay for math (torture ahhh). Song is "Halo" - Beyonce

* * *

"Feels like I've been awakened

Every rule I had you breaking

The risk that I'm taking

I'm never gonna shut you out."

-

"Oh!" I shrieked, tripping over air and crashing towards the floor. That is, until a strong pair of arms caught me and steadied my clumsy self.

I looked up to see Edward, of course, standing in front of me, an amused expression on his face.

"You alright?" He whispered softly, his mouth next to my ear.

"Yes, I'm fine." I cleared my throat and nudged my head slightly towards Emmett, who was cracking up, and then at Edward's hands, which were still planted on my waist.

Edward quickly backed off, sensing my discomfort. He went back to making cereal for himself and I could tell he was slightly ticked off.

We'd been playing this game for weeks. Edward and I continued to hide our relationship (if you could even call it that) from Emmett. We'd share kisses behind his back and hold hands on the couch when he wasn't looking. I felt bad for all the secret keeping, truly I did, but it was in Emmett's best interest to keep this from him. I knew how awkward it would make him feel.

I carefully walked back to the refrigerator to get a carton of milk, making sure not to trip again. I poured some in my bowl of Cheerios, and then in Edward's; a peace offering. I peeked up to see him smiling down at me and my heart soared. When the bowls were both full, Edward grabbed the milk and twisted the cap back on. He placed it back in the fridge and when he was behind me, gave my hips a little squeeze, before placing a wet kiss on the back of my neck.

I squealed in surprise and then passed it off as a violent cough for Emmett, who was looking at me like I had a few screws loose. Apparently, I was a good actress because Emmett jumped up from his seat and began to give me the Heimlich maneuver. Seriously.

"Emmett! Emmett! I'm fine!" I choked out in shock as he held me against his chest.

"Yeah, Emmett, I think I saw something fly out. She's all good," Edward joined in as I shot him a death glare. I could see it in his eyes that he wanted to burst out laughing. He was so going to pay.

"Man, Bella, you sure are lucky you got me around," Emmett said, finally letting me go.

"Quite lucky," Edward agreed, though I was the only one who saw him roll his eyes.

"Well, after all that excitement, I think it's about time I head to work. I'll see you guys later. Bella, watch yourself – this doesn't seem like your day!" Emmett grinned at me, winking, and then closed the front door behind him.

Immediately I threw myself at Edward, pounding him lightly on the chest. "You suck!"

"Me? What did I do?" He smiled down at me, all too innocent.

"You know exactly what you did, Edward Cullen. Being all cute like that and taking me by surprise in front of Emmett. So not cool!" I pouted.

"You know you liked it." He grinned slyly, pulling me into his chest and placing light kisses on my neck.

"Nuh-uh." It was supposed to come out more assertively, except his lips were highly distracting, so it was more a sigh slash moan.

I could feel Edward's smile against my neck at my obvious reaction to him. He placed his finger gingerly under my chin and then kissed me softly.

I threw my arms around him and didn't wait even a moment to slip my tongue out. He granted me access just as quickly and my stomach felt all buttefly-ish from how good this felt.

Finally, we both had to pull away to catch our breath. "I've been wanting to do that since I woke up," I whispered into his shoulder.

He stiffened. "Well, we wouldn't have to wait if you would simply tell Emmett what's going on."

I looked up at him and frowned. "Edward..."

He sighed, brushing a hand through his hair, obviously frustrated. "I'm sorry. I know, you want to wait."

I nodded. "Just for right now, I promise."

"Yeah." My heart broke at how sad he looked. "I should probably head out," he said, glancing at the clock.

"Okay," I mumbled, feeling a bit dejected. I hated that this whole Emmett thing was getting in between us. "Please don't be mad."

He finally looked up at me and sighed, putting his arms around me again. "I'm not mad, Bella." He smiled down at me and then kissed me gently. "I'll see you later."

I squeezed him. "See you."

"Bye, beautiful."

I couldn't help the smile that spread over my face at his words, even after he was gone.

The past weeks had been simply amazing. We tried to spend as much time as we possibly could together, sneaking into each others rooms at night. It felt juvenile, really, with all of the mousing around. Both of us had pretty much memorized where every floorboard creaked or groaned.

It was worth it though. We talked for hours about everything and anything one could think of. I felt like I'd known him my whole life, when in reality it was only a few months. I wasn't sure what this _was_ between us yet, but it was different and baffling and I loved it completely.

However, there was the question of what _we_ were, exactly. I liked Edward a lot and I was pretty sure the feeling was mutual, but it wasn't like we were public about it, obviously, and I also wasn't positive that we were keeping it exclusive. I hadn't been on any other dates but I wasn't sure about Edward. Though it was true that he was spending most of his time with me, there was still the possibility that he was interested in someone else. It wasn't like we were that serious.

Plus, there was Emmett. Keeping secrets was not an easy task and I knew that Edward was getting extremely tired of it. But how could I just tell Emmett? When I didn't even know specifically what was going on with Edward and I.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

Geez, when had life gotten so dramatic?

-

A week later, I laid in my bed with Edward next to me, tracing light circles on my hips with his fingers. It was late and I'd just snuck into his room; our nightly ritual.

For the past five minutes, it had been so silent that you could even hear Emmett snoring through the walls.

"Edward?" I whispered tentatively, wondering if he had fallen asleep. Not that I'd blame him, it was extremely late.

"Mmm?" He replied.

I pulled away from his embrace to look up at him. He was awake and I decided to kiss him lightly. Though he respnoed, the feeling was different, like he wasn't really there.

I gave him a look and he smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, pulling me back into his chest. "I was just thinking..."

"About what?"

He sighed. "A lot of things. Mostly about us, though."

I pulled away again to look at him. "Us?"

"Yes, Bella. Us." His voice was getting a little too loud and I put a finger to my lips, nodding at the wall behind us, where Emmett was soundly sleeping. These damn walls were way too thin.

Edward frowned and ran a hand over his face. "That's exactly what I was thinking about."

I stared at him, puzzled.

"It doesn't bother you? Having to keep a secret all the time? God, Bella, I just want to be with you! I don't see why everything else matters so much."

I resisted the urge to tell him to keep his voice down since I was pretty sure that wasn't going to go over so well at the moment.

"Edward, we've talked about this. Emmett has done a _huge_ favor for me by letting me move in with you guys. I can't make him feel uncomfortable in his own home."

"Why would Emmett feel uncomfortable, Bella? It's not as if we're going to be doing it on the kitchen table, or something," he replied, rolling his eyes at me.

I looked at him incredulously and slapped his chest. "Edward!"

"Sorry," he muttered bashfully. "Look, I'm not trying to start a fight. Really, I'm not. And I do understand where you're coming from with the Emmett situation."

He grabbed my hands, squeezing them with his own and looking directly into my eyes.

"But, Bella, I've never felt this way with anyone. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world just to be able to be around you. I mean, you're beautiful and sweet and funny and intelligent. You're _perfect_." I blushed, ducking my head. However, he was not having that and quickly lifted my chin with his finger so that I was staring into his gorgeous eyes again. "And honestly, I just want the whole world to know it. I want to walk outside and hold your hand and show every single guy that even glances at you that you are mine. I don't want to care that someone sees if I kiss you. I want to take you on a date, a real date, and make you the happiest girl in the world. I want you, Bella. Just you, without all the complications."

For a while, I was stared at him, gaping. Seriously, what can you even say to that?

Of coure, I knew. Edward was one of the greatest people that I'd ever known and I'd never had someone say anything to me like that. Ever. If I wanted this to work out, which I did with all my heart, I was going to have to compromise. Because there was nothing, absolutely nothing, that I was going to let get in the way of whatever Edward and I could be. I wouldn't let it.

I gulped. "Okay," I conceded. "I'll tell him tomorrow. I promise."

I knew it was worth it when I saw the biggest smile form on Edward's dazzling face.

"Thank you, Bella. You don't know how much that means to me." He continued to smile as he pressed his lips to mine.

I was in a state of pure bliss, but the reminders of the promise I had just made stayed in the back of my head the entire night.

What was Emmett going to say?

I was one hundred percent positive that I did not want to know.

-

"Everywhere I'm looking now

I'm surrounded by your embrace

Baby I can see your halo

You know you're my saving grace."


	10. The Resolution

"There's a lot that I don't know,

there's a lot that I'm still learning."

-

I sat up in bed and stretched my arms over my head as I yawned. I had reluctantly left Edward and gone back to my own bed only a few hours earlier.

There were some clanging noises in the kitchen and I could tell it was Emmett from the loud stomps.

Ugh. I guess it was now or never.

Slowly, I pulled myself out of bed. I brushed out my hair and threw on some sweatpants, hoping to look at least somewhat presentable.

Like I'd thought, Emmett was in the kitchen. He had two spoons in his hands, which he was banging on a pan on the stove.

I raised an eyebrow. "Em, what are you doing?"

He turned to me, surprised. "Morning, sunshine. I'm making music...and breakfast." He grinned. "Want some pancakes?"

I nodded eagerly. Emmett made the most scrumptious pancakes in the world and my stomach was already growling.

I took a seat at the kitchen table, shoving one leg underneath me.

"Hey, Emmett," I started hesitantly. "I need to, uh, talk to you about something."

"Shoot." He started to pour the batter into the pan. "Mickey Mouse or regular?" He asked, tipping the bowl.

"Mickey Mouse." I smiled. I loved it when Emmett shaped my pancakes like the cartoon. It reminded me of when we were kids.

"So,um, it's about Edward." I gulped. Okay. I'm just gonna come out and say it. I began to panic. What was he going to think? What would he say?

"Alright..." He stared at me, confused. "Go ahead."

"Edward and I...we're sort of, um, together." I blew out a breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

For a minute, Emmett just looked at me, his brow furrowing.

"Was that supposed to be a secret?"

Now it was my turn to look confused. "What? What do you mean? You knew?" I was shocked.

Emmett began to crack up, slapping his hands on his knees. "Are you serious, Bella? Of course, I knew." He shook his head, still laughing. "Man, you really suck at hiding stuff from me."

"I don't understand..." I frowned.

"Bella, I do live here, remember? Oh, and I also have ears. I can't even count the number of times your little scampering down the hall woke me up." He grinned.

And here, I'd thought I'd been so good at keeping silent as I tip toed down the hall. So much for that.

"Oh, and my favorite, all of the, '_Ohhh, Edward_'s. Gotta love em'."

"Hey!" I glared at him, my eyes narrowing. "I don't even say that."

He chuckled, flipping the last pancake.

I had been so flustered that I hadn't noticed that Emmett wasn't even angry. He was _laughing_. I didn't get it.

"Aren't you...mad?" I asked warily.

"Mad? Why would I be mad?" He placed the dish of pancakes on the table.

"'Cause I feel terrible. I mean, making you feel uncomfortable in your own apartment is the last thing I'd ever want. You're doing me this huge favor and I repay you by hooking up with your roommate?" I looked down at my lap, embarrassed.

"Bella, you're being ridiculous. First of all, Edward is your roommate too. You live here, now, and it's not just my apartment. Your personal life is really none of my business and truthfully, I think you and Edward are cute together." He winked at me and stuck his tongue out.

"Cute? What, are we in seventh grade?" Despite my uneasiness, I couldn't help but fall into our easy banter.

"Well, from what I've seen, yes, you are. Have you guys even made it to second base yet? Geez."

"Emmett!" I scolded, slapping his arm. "You're talking about bases and _I'm _in seventh grade." I rolled my eyes at him.

He laughed. "You know, I've sort of got something to tell you, too."

"Oh?" I looked at him curiously."

He swallowed a bite of pancake and then rubbed a hand behind his neck nervously. "I met this girl. I've only known her a a few weeks, but," He sighed. "I think I'm in love."

My mouth dropped in surprise. "Emmett, that's great!" Emmett was known not to ever get serious with any girl. He'd always say that none of them mattered enough to him, that he hadn't found the right person yet. "So, who's the lucky gal?"

He grinned. "Her name's Rosalie. She's beautiful, Bella. Seriously, I've never met anyone like her in my life." His eyes sparkled with happiness as he described his new love interest.

"I'm so happy for you!" I threw my arms around him in a congratulatory hug.

He hugged me back. "Thanks, Bella. I'm happy for you, too."

We continued to eat our breakfast in peaceful silence.

"Hey, have you told Alice yet? About Edward?" Emmett asked.

I gulped. "Not yet. I didn't want her telling you...when I thought you didn't know. Oh, crap." I threw an arm over my eyes. "She's going to kill me, isn't she?"

Emmett grimaced. "Don't worry. I'm in the same boat as you."

"Damn, we're screwed."

Emmett laughed and then I started laughing too because really, we both were just so ridiculously happy that nothing in the world could bother us. We'd found people that we cared about in a way that we'd never experienced before and it felt amazing.

"I'm glad you're okay with everything, Emmett. Really, it means a lot."

"No worries, sis. I'm happy for you two." His tone turned serious. "But if he hurts you, I'll kill him."

I rolled my eyes. "Easy there, killer."

"I'm serious."

"Okay, I'll make sure to relay that message to him."

"Good."

I laughed, standing up and grabbing both of our plates to wash them in the sink.

A little while later, Emmett left for work and I quickly made my way into Edward's room. I was guessing he'd kept himself in there so that Emmett and I could have some privacy.

My guess was correct. Edward was sitting up in bed, reading a magazine, which he quickly tossed aside when he saw me.

I jumped into bed next to him, snuggling into his side.

"Morning," I mumbled.

"Good morning, beautiful." He kissed the top of my head. "Did you talk to Emmett?"

I nodded.

"How did it go?"

"He already knew everything and he wasn't mad. Apparently, we're not as crafty as we thought."

Edward chuckled. "Huh, guess that means my career as the next James Bond is shot to hell."

"Guess so." I frowned up at him. "Too bad, though, 'cause I only liked you for your James Bond tendencies. Now that that's gone," I sighed exasperatedly. "You're not really good for much."

Edward gaped at me. "You better take that back."

"And if I don't?"

He didn't bother to answer. Instead, he proceeded to tickle me senseless. I wriggled around, laughing, as his hands tickled my sides. "Stop! Stop! I surrender! James Bond has nothing on Edward Cullen," I gasped.

Edward laughed and ceased his torture. "Much better." He pulled me on top of him and kissed my forehead softly. "I'm glad everything went well with Emmett."

I smiled, resting my head on his chest. "Me too."

-

"Yeah, I just need light,

Light in the dark as I search for the resolution."

* * *

**A/N**: Short chapter, I know. But lots of fluff next chapter, yay! Song is "The Resolution" - Jack's Mannequin.


	11. Cross My Heart

"Your best you tried and yeah, you did fine

No, better than fine, perfect in my mind.

In fact, I wish your heart was mine."

-

"Ow!" I dodged the needle Alice was poking into my side. "Those things are sharp, Al!"

She glared and continued to prod and poke at the fabric. Alice had asked me to be the maid of honor at her wedding and, being the little fashion designer she was, decided to make all of the dresses herself.

I'd come over to tell Alice about Edward, expecting her to, I don't know, squeal and act girly? Except that was wishful thinking and I soon faced the Wrath Of Alice the minute I'd told her. Let's just say she wasn't too thrilled that she'd been kept in the dark for so long. And telling her as she was doing the measurements for my dress was not exactly the smartest decision.

Thankfully, she was quickly getting over it and the needle poking was finally becoming less frequent.

"So are you guys serious?" She asked.

I shrugged, scratching the inside of my wrist. "Uh, we haven't really discussed the, erm, logistics of our relationship."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know what we are, exactly." I frowned. Things had become evermore confusing with Edward and myself. Mostly because nothing had really...changed. We still had our "sleepovers", but we'd never done anything _outside_ the apartment, like a normal couple would do. Not that I thought we were a couple. Nope. No way.

I mean, we'd have to talk about being a couple if we were a couple, right? And we hadn't. Yeah, okay, so Edward had said he wanted to be with me, but I'd told Emmett about us weeks ago and he'd yet to even ask me on a date. I was starting to worry that maybe Edward had changed his mind.

"So, how are things going with the wedding plan?" I asked, changing the subject.

Alice's face lit up. "Great! Everything should be ready soon..."

Alice's wedding date was actually not too far away. She'd gotten everything together in record timing, which wasn't exactly a surprise since she'd been planning her wedding since she was nine.

After Alice was done with whatever she was trying to do with the dress, I put my regular clothes back on and headed back to the apartment.

When I walked in, I heard Edward's voice coming from the living room and I quickly made my way towards him, plopping down on the couch. I soon noticed that he was on the phone and made an attempt to leave the room so that he could have some privacy but he grabbed my waist with one hand and pulled me back towards him, still continuing to talk with the mystery person.

Edward quickly wrapped the converstaion up. "Okay, I'll talk to you soon. Love you, Mom. Bye."

Ah. So, Edward Cullen was a mama's boy?

He placed the phone on the side table and then turned back to me, kissing my lips softly.

"You left so early this morning. I didn't even get a chance to see you." He frowned.

"Sorry, I went to Alice's. You know, maid of honor duties and all that."

"Fun stuff."

"You know it," I teased. "So, that was your mother?"

"Yeah, I hadn't talked to her for a while, so I figured I'd give her a call." He sighed, running his long fingers through my hair. "I'd love for you to meet her one day."

My heart started thudding at the thought of meeting Edward's mother. That was a pretty big step, especially for the non-existent relationship we had.

"I'd like that," I replied. "But, um, what would you, exactly, be introducing me as?"

He gave me a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

I grimaced, looking down at my hands, feeling completely awkward. "Well, like, okay, so I meet her. Then, you go, 'Hey, Mom. This is Bella, my...'" I paused, waiting for him to finish my sentence.

He continued to stare at me like I was insane in the membrane. "Uh...my roommate?"

I pulled away from him and frowned. "Well, is that what I am to you?"

He shook his head, sighing, hooking his fingers through the loops in my jeans and closing the distance between us. "Bella, you're obviously trying to get at something. Just say it."

I crossed my arms. "I...I'm so confused! I don't understand what it is that we're doing. I mean, I like you and I think you like me too. You act like you're my boyfriend, but it's not like we've ever established that. I don't know what I'm supposed to think. I mean, we've never even gone out in public together!" Okay, I have to admit, I sort of felt like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum, but I couldn't help it. All of my Edward frustrations made me into a bit of a drama queen.

He just looked at me for a second and then, he bursted out laughing. Why did it seem like he did that a lot?

"Bella, my sweet Bella," he chuckled. "You are absurd."

He was definitely not helping his case and I think he got the hint when I continued to frown at him.

"Bella, I thought I made myself clear. No, I don't think you are just my roommate and I would _love_ to be your boyfriend." He laughed at this because, apparently, the word boyfriend was hilarious.

"Then ask me. Officially," I commanded.

"What, are we in high school, or something?" He teased.

"Edward..." I glared.

He held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay." He took a deep breath and then let it out exxageratedlty. "Bella, will you go out with me? Be my girlfriend, one and only? Maybe we can go to prom together, too?" I hit him on the arm when he said the last part.

Edward grinned. "Okay, serious time, now. What do you say?" He stared down at me expectantly.

I stuck a finger to my lips, pretending to be in deep thought. "Hmmm, I don't know...I'm not really into nerds."

Edward gasped in mock horror. "Bella!"

"Kidding!" I smiled. "Yes, Edward, I'd love to be your girlfriend. Why didn't you just say so?" I stuck my tongue out at him and he kissed it, taking me by surpise.

"Dork," I teased.

"Your dork." He grinned, pulling me closer.

"Yes, _my _dork."

-

"I know you're going crazy

But happy is all that you make me."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry this is short and it took a while. Hopefully I can get the next chapter up soon! Song is "Cross My Heart" - The Rocket Summer


	12. Oh, It Is Love

"Oh, dear, it's been hardly a moment

And you are already missed

There is still a bit of your skin

That I've yet to have kissed."

-

"Okay, you're all set," Alice chirped, finally putting away the torture device that she called a hairbrush.

I blew out a breath of relief and turned around to face the mirror. When I'd told Alice about my date with Edward, she'd insisted that she do my makeup and clothes. Apparently, it was the least I could do considering that I hadn't told her about Edward until recently.

I stared at my reflection in shock. Alice was seriously a magic worker. She'd curled my hair so that it fell in ringlets around my face and she'd done my makeup, and I quote, "natural but sexy". Still, I had to hand it to her. I actually looked, well, good.

Alice hadn't even gone overboard on the outfit. She'd decided, since Edward hadn't told me what we'd be doing on the date, that I should go casual in jeans and a tank top. The jeans hugged my curves nicely and the shirt was flowy and red. I was completely surprised that I actually _liked_ what Alice had picked out. When I'd told her this earlier, she'd scoffed and rolled her eyes, as if it had already been a given.

I turned around to face Alice and jumped up, throwing my arms around her. "Thanks, Alice."

She laughed and squeezed me back. "Anytime, Bella. We'd better get back out there, though. I'm sure your boyfriend's getting a bit antsy."

I giggled, following her out of the bathroom.

As Alice had expected, Edward was sitting in living room, restlessly bouncing his leg. When his eyes met mine, his face lit up and he bounded over to me, grinning.

"You look beautiful," he murmured, kissing my cheek.

I blushed. "You don't look too shabby yourself."

He looked amazing, actually. He was wearing dark jeans and a fitted black t-shirt that allowed her to see the outline of his chiseled abs. I licked my lips. _Keep it together, Bella_.

I smiled up at him and he extended his arm. "Shall we?"

I nodded and we made our way towards the front door, Alice and Emmett in tow. It felt strangely like having my parents walk my date and I to the door.

"Have a great time, you two," Alice chirped, smiling at us as Edward opened the door. She bent her head closer to mine. "You really do look gorgeous. You should see the way he's looking at you right now. I can already tell this one's a keeper." She pulled away and winked. I couldn't help the feeling of happiness that this gave me. This was the first time Alice had officially met Edward and I was so glad that they got along.

Emmett cleared his throat and clapped Edward on the back. "Yeah, have fun, guys. And remember, always use protection."

"Emmett!" Alice and I both exclaimed simultaneously.

He chuckled. "Hey, I'm just joshin'. I think we all know you two are the biggest prudes ever."

"Goodbye, Emmett," Edward interjected quickly, sliding his hand into mine and pulling me down the hallway towards the elevator.

The doors opened and we stepped inside. "See you later, guys," I said, waving at Alice and Emmett.

"Stay safe!" Emmett shouted, just as the elevator doors shut with a bang. Still, I could hear Emmett's booming laughter.

"So, where are we going?" I asked as we exited the building and began walking down the sidewalk.

Edward smiled. "You'll see."

And I did see. A few minutes later, Edward turned quickly onto a side street and then again into a place of flashing lights and a crowd of people.

I looked up at Edward in surprise. "A carnival?" It seemed like such a...normal place for a date. I liked it.

"Not just any carnival," he replied. "It's the local, annual firefighter's carnival. Apparently, it's quite famous."

I chuckled. "Well, I've never been to said famous carnival. Or any carnival, actually."

Edward's eyes widened. "Never?" I nodded. "Well, then, I guess I picked the right location for our date. You really have been missing out on life, Miss Swan."

"Is that so?"

"Yup." He grinned and kissed me before intertwining our fingers and making his way towards the ticket booth.

"So, where to first?"

I looked around at the expanse of rides and games. I scratched my head. Just looking at all of those spinning and flipping rides made me nauseous. Egh.

"How about that?" I pointed to the ferris wheel.

"Alright." We strode over to the line and Edward gave our tickets to the booth person.

I followed Edward into the contraption and took a seat by his side, looking down nervously at the ground as we began to move.

"Um, Edward," I whispered. "Is this safe?"

Edward chuckled and put his arm around me, drawing me tightly to his side. "I believe so. But if anything happens, I'll just throw you on my back and climb down. Don't worry."

I frowned. "The scary part is that I know you're being serious."

"I am. Completely."

I shook my head in disbelief and averted my eyes from my surroundings as we traveled higher and higher.

The ride jolted to a stop and I turned to Edward, panicked. We were right on top.

He rubbed my arm soothingly and smiled. "It's alright, Bella. The ride has to stop sometimes to pick up passengers."

"Oh, right. I knew that," I mumbled, feeling like a complete idiot.

I finally looked down at the ground, which was frighteningly distant. Kids were jumping and playing, while their parents looked on or scolded them.

The amazing part, though, was our surroundings. From here, you could see the whole city almost. There was nothing like it.

"Wow, it's beautiful up here." I pointed at the skyline.

Edward nodded. "It is. But I see something much more beautiful."

I turned to face him. "What?"

"You, of course, my sweet Bella."

I blushed, turning away, but Edward wouldn't have that. He grabbed my chin with his finger and leaned into me, slowly pressing his lips to mine.

The ride started up again and we reluctantly pulled apart. "I just kissed a guy at the top of a ferris wheel," I mused. "How cheesy is that."

"Cheesy in a good way?" Edward asked, grinning crookedly.

"Yes." I nodded. "A very good way. It's crazy that it stopped right on top though."

Edward shrugged. "I may have pulled a few strings."

"Edward!" I scolded, but I was way too happy to actually be angry. Surprisingly, this whole carnival date thing was turning out to be pretty fantastic.

Eventually, we got off the ride, though Edward kept telling the guy to let us go around again. The grumpy carnie finally got annoyed and forced us off, to Edward's disappointment. I was beginning to wonder if he had a fetish for making out on ferris wheels.

We made our way through the carnival, going on other rides, the tame ones, at least, and playing a few games. Edward even won a huge bumblebee with the words "Bee mine" on the front in one of those games where you hit the target with a hammer in hopes that the marker will go to the top. Edward had little trouble winning and I was honored to be the recipient of the stuffed animal.

Ten rides, five games, and one funnel-cake later, we found ourselves at one of the picnic tables, our mouths covered with sugar.

I moved to the other side of the table and plopped myself down on Edward's lap. "I think you've got a little something there." I pointed to the great amount of powdered sugar on his lips.

"You, too," he replied.

"Maybe we could help each other out?" I suggested, grinning.

Edward grinned back as I threw my arms around his neck and our lips met. I felt like we'd kissed a hundred times tonight. I just couldn't get enough it seemed.

I changed my position so that I was straddling his lap and continued to kiss him hungrily.

"Bella," Edward gasped out, breaking our kiss. I didn't let this stop me as I moved down towards his neck, sucking on the skin there. "Bella," he repeated, more firmly now. "As much as I enjoy you assaulting me on a picnic table, I do think it may be inappropriate for our audience."

I pulled away and turned to where he was looking. Two little boys were standing a few feet away, ogling us, their mouths dropped wide open. A mother finally noticed and grabbed the boys' hands, pulling them away embarrassedly. The children kept their gaze on us, obviously entranced.

I turned back to Edward and threw my head back, laughing. Edward joined me as we both cracked up.

"I guess we'd better leave, then," Edward murmured. "As it appears we're posing as a very bad influence on all of these children."

I put both of my hands up in defense, but Edward ignored me, standing up and throwing me over his back.

We made our way out of the carnival and back to the apartment. "How ironic," Edward said as we walked...or, well, _he _walked. "You wanted to get out of the apartment and do something, but when we _do_ go out in public, you can't seem to keep your hands off me," he teased.

I hit him on the back of his head. "Hey, I didn't see you acting so innocent yourself, mister."

"You're right." He let me slide off his back and then grabbed my waist, pushing me up against the side of our building. "I can't control myself around you," he murmured huskily, bending his head towards my neck and leaving soft kisses from my collarbone, up to my ear, where he nibbled it softly. I twined my fingers in his hair, reveling in the feeling of him so close to me. He leaned back to look at me for a second and then pushed his lips into mine. We remained like this, our lips moving against each other rhythmically. He grabbed my bottom lip with his and sucked gently.

Suddenly, he pulled away entirely and interlocked our fingers, continuing our trek to the apartment.

"What was that?" I asked incredulously.

He grinned. "Our goodnight kiss."

"I didn't think that was necessary considering we, um, live together?" He pushed the up button on the wall.

"I know, but I wanted to make it official." The elevator doors opened and we made our way inside.

"Well, you did a good job," I teased. "Edward, I had an amazing time, really. Thank you."

He smiled and pulled me into his arms. "I'm glad. I enjoyed it as well. Was the carnival all you expected it to be?"

I laughed. "Oh, of course. I can't believe I've actually had to miss out on all that."

"Well, I'm happy to have popped your carnival cherry."

"Edward!" I shrieked. That wasn't something that he would say. "I think you've been hanging around with Emmett too much."

He chuckled. "That is quite possible."

Edward opened the door to the apartment and we made our way past a snoring Emmett in the living room to our bedrooms. I changed into my pajamas and then headed to Edward's room where he was already in bed. I jumped in beside him, snuggling into his chest.

"You make me so happy. You have no idea how much," I whispered into the darkness, almost hoping he wouldn't hear.

"If it's as happy as you make me, then I have an idea," he replied, kissing the top of my head.

I soon fell into a deep sleep, my dreams, of course, filled with Edward.

-

"It is love from the first

Time I pressed my lips against yours

Thinking, 'Oh, is it love?'"

* * *

**A/N**: Song is "Oh, It Is Love" - hellogoodbye. Sorry for any mistakes, I didn't check it that thoroughly.


	13. All Cause Of You

"I've been sinking through the drain of love

Lift my eyes to skies of up above

Listen to me, this is how I feel

Since I knew you, all my thoughts are real."

-

Three weeks had passed since my date with Edward. Everything had been perfect. He was all I could ever ask for and I felt extremely lucky to have him, especially in the chaos known as Alice's wedding. The ceremony was supposed to take place tomorrow and Alice was running around like Wild Coyote getting everything together.

I wasn't sure what to do exactly as maid of honor. Thankfully Alice had almost everything under control and all I had to do was plan the bachelorette party.

Creating a guest list was harder than I thought it would be. Of course there would be Alice, myself, her mother, and Jasper's mother. I ended up having to get a list from Alice since I really had no clue as to who I should invite. Alice's list included many more women, including a few cousins of Jasper's. She even decided to include Rosalie, Emmett's girlfriend, who we'd met a few times.

The night started off at one of Alice's favorite restaurants where we had dinner and cocktails. We went from the restaurant to a club downtown, where Alice, much to her dismay, got a lap dance from one of the waiters. It was extremely entertaining, I must say.

"Great party, seems like Alice is having a blast," someone remarked from beside me. I turned to find one of Jasper's cousins, though I couldn't recall her name, standing there. She was absolutely gorgeous though. I felt oddly intimidated. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and looked to almost be about six feet tall. I felt like I was looking up at a skyscraper, I couldn't imagine how Alice felt.

"Yeah, I hope so. I'm not sure if I'm living up to all of my maid of honor expectations," I admitted.

She laughed. "I'm sure you're doing fine. It's Bella, right? I'm Tanya, Jasper's cousin."

"Oh, right, of course. I remember talking to you on the phone."

Tanya smiled and we continued to chat. A faster beat came blasting through the speakers. "Wanna dance?" She shouted in my ear.

I bit my lip, wondering how to say no politely, but Tanya was already dragging me out on the dance floor, joining the rest of our group who were already dancing.

Hey, what the hell. One dance wouldn't kill me.

-

"Woo-hoo! Last night of freedom, baby! Paaartay!" Alice slurred, her arm thrown loosely around my neck as I somewhat carried her up the stairs to her apartment. With the whole superstitious can't-wake-up-in-bed-next-to--your-fiancee-on-your-wedding-day thing, Jasper and I had traded spots, him sleeping at my place and me sleeping at Alice's.

"Shhh," I hissed. "You're gonna wake up your whole building."

Apparently this was hilarious as Alice started cracking up, still giggling even when we were inside of the apartment and I'd thrown her on the bed. I grabbed some pajamas from her drawer and quickly changed her out of the dress she was wearing.

I laughed, shaking my head at the sight of my drunken best friend. "Night, Alice."

"No, wait!" She shouted. "Come sleep with me. We can have a slumber party."

I rolled my eyes but complied, changing into my own pajamas and jumping into bed with Alice, except that by the time I came back, she was already fast asleep.

I smiled and brushed some hair out of her face. "Sweet dreams, sleeping beauty.

She responded with a snore.

-

I stared at Alice in shock. "May I ask how you are so calm?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I just have nothing to worry about, everything is in place."

Alice was right, though. She was completely ready and dressed, as were all of the bridesmaids. All that was needed was our queue.

"Are you nervous?"

She sighed. "Yeah, a little. But that's normal I think. Everyone has a little anxiety on their wedding day, right?"

Maybe more than a little for some, I thought, thinking back on my own wedding.

"Yeah, it's normal. You'll be fine, though. Just don't pull a Bella," I teased, winking.

She snorted. "Don't worry, I won't."

I glanced over at the clock on the wall. "Hey, I'll be right back, okay?"

"Sure," Alice replied, though she was hardly paying attention as she was bombarded by the rest of her family, who were prying and poking at her dress and face. Ah, the joys of being the center of attention.

I quickly made my way out of the room and to the front of the building, searching for Edward who should've been arriving now.

It wasn't hard to spot him with his crazy mess of bronze hair. I smiled, running over to Edward and sneaking up behind him, putting my hands over his eyes. "Guess who."

"Hmm, this wouldn't happen to be my lovely, beautiful girlfriend Bella, would it?" I could feel him grinning.

"No way."

Edward spun around without warning and pressed his lips to mine. I smiled against his mouth, locking my fingers behind his neck and asking for entrance with my tongue as I licked his bottom lip.

When we pulled away, I shook my head at him. "That could've been anyone, you know."

He smirked. "I guess I'm lucky it was you then, aren't I?"

"Very lucky."

His eyes trailed down my body as he admired my attire. "Wow, you look absolutely stunning, Isabella," he murmured, entranced.

I blushed. "Thank you."

"I should probably get seated, shouldn't I?"

I nodded regretfully as we made our way inside.

"See you in there, I guess," Edward said, smiling down at me.

"Yeah, wish me luck. I'll probably trip on my way down the aisle."

"You'll be fine, love."

Edward gave me one last kiss before making his way into the main room to find his seat.

-

The ceremony actually went really well. Alice and Jasper created their own vows, which was extremely romantic and almost everyone in the room was close to tears.

My face didn't even become friends with the floor, as I remained upright the whole time surprisingly.

I hooked my arm through Edward's as we entered the reception hall. There was a crowd of people in the room already, awaiting the arrival of the bride and groom.

"Bella!" A voice called. I spun around, looking for the owner, only to find Tanya striding towards me.

I smiled. "Hey, Tanya." Beside me, Edward tensed. I turned to look at him curiously but his eyes were focused on Tanya.

"Edward? Is that you?" She asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Tanya." His voice became serious. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the groom's cousin. And yourself?"

"I'm with Bella."

"Ah."

I cleared my throat as an awkward silence passed between the three of us. "So, how do you two know each other?"

"Edward and I used to be together," Tanya answered, smirking.

What? Edward and _Tanya_? How could that be?

Except I could completely see how that would be. Edward was smart, Tanya was smart. Edward was beautiful, Tanya was beautiful.

I felt sick. Already I'd felt self-conscious around Tanya but now...it was indescribable. The thought of Edward and her together made me feel nauseous.

"Oh, well, that's nice." It sounded even more stupid out loud than it did in my head.

"Well, I'd better go mingle. See you around, you two. And you'll save a dance for me, won't you, Edward? We really do need to catch up."

My hands tightened into fists at my side.

Edward nodded shortly and Tanya sauntered off, in her stupid, body hugging, too short skank-dress.

How had I gone from being friendly with Tanya to hating her guts? My, my, my.

"You're friends?" Edward asked as we walked towards the name card table.

"No, I invited her to Alice's bachelorette party since she's Jasper's cousin." I paused. "Is that the girlfriend who dumped all your clothes out the window when you broke up with her?"

Edward chuckled. "Yes, the one and only."

Hm. Well, that made me feel better. At least Edward had broken up with _her_, though I could hardly see why. She was close to perfect and yet, Edward now had to settle with me. I found myself feeling sorry for him.

Edward picked up his place card, which read table fifteen, and we walked over to his designated seat.

Of course, Tanya was at table fifteen as well. How nice.

Edward took his seat, which was right next to Tanya. Great.

A few people cheered as Alice and Jasper made their entrance.

I turned to Edward. "Will you be okay?"

Edward smiled, taking my hand and kissing it.

"Yes, mother," he replied, winking.

I rolled my eyes. "I wish I could sit with you."

"Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time together later. Alice needs you."

I sighed. "See you, then. I already miss you."

Edward laughed. "I'll miss you too, Bella. Twenty feet away from me, how will I go on?"

I smacked him for mocking me and he continued to laugh. He stood up and pulled me into his arms, kissing me hard. Take that, Tanya.

I pulled away reluctantly and finally made my way over to the head table, sitting down next to Alice.

"Hello, Mrs. Hale," I greeted, sliding into the seat next to Alice's.

She grinned, throwing her arms around me. "Bella!"

I grinned. "So, how does it feel?"

She sighed happily. "Pretty great."

I smiled. "I'm glad."

The waiters took our orders and I decided to waste my time by finding Edward, hoping to catch his glance.

I found him, alright. And let's just say he looked way too cozy with Tanya or, well, _she _looked way too cozy with _him_. She had her hand on his knee and she was leaning into him, speaking way too closely to his ear and giggling like a schoolgirl every time he said something.

I saw red, I was so angry.

This continued throughout the whole dinner as I looked on in shock and utter confusion. What was he doing? No, it wasn't as if he was flirting back with her but he wasn't doing much to stop her advances. I crossed my arms over myself.

Except this made sense. Why would he choose me over Tanya? Honestly, the thought was ridiculous. Tanya was beautiful with the looks of a model and I...well, I was completely average. Tanya was obviously the more desirable choice, I could see that.

Dessert came and when we were finished, everyone did their toasts, including myself. I even managed not to sound like a total idiot or mumble my words. Props to me. Alice and Jasper made their way to the dance floor, performing their first dance as a married couple. I smiled, watching the two together. They really were perfect for each other.

I turned my head towards my unfortunate entertainment. Tanya said something and Edward's brow furrowed. Then, he leaned in to whisper something in her ear and that was all I could take before I had to leave. I couldn't handle it, seeing Edward with her. Perhaps he'd had a change of heart.

I quickly made my way to the front of the building, stepping onto the sidewalk. I shivered as the air hit me and crossed my arms over myself.

My thoughts soon turned to Edward and Tanya. It was clear that she was interested in him but was he in her? Well, why wouldn't he be? She was beautiful and they obviously had a connection, a past.

Suddenly, I heard the door open and close behind me and I spun around to find Edward.

I turned away. I couldn't look at him or I would just break down.

His arms came around me from behind and he attempted to press his lips to my neck, but I pulled away.

"Bella?" He tried to grab my wrist but I pulled that away too.

He frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Tanya," I sputtered.

Edward sighed and pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose. "What?"

"You and her." I shook my head. "I'm not stupid, Edward." It came out angrier than I'd intended.

"I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Edward, I've had to watch you all night with her. I can see that she still has feelings for you and why wouldn't you reciprocate those feelings?"

Edward stared at me as if I had grown three heads. "Why would I not reciprocate her feelings? Are you being serious? There is nothing between Tanya and I. I can't believe you'd suggest otherwise."

"No, but that doesn't make sense. She's so beautiful, Edward. Why would you want me over her?"

Edward's mouth dropped. "Bella, you are utterly absurd."

"I'm being serious, Edward!"

"So am I!" He replied angrily, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking lightly. "Isabella Swan, I love you. I have never loved anyone as much as I love you right this moment. There is no competition, I repeat, _no competition_, between you and Tanya. I would never choose anyone over you, my silly Bella."

I stared up at him in awe. "You...love me?"

Edward sighed, cupping my face with his hands. "Yes, Bella. I love you, more than anything in the world."

I gulped. We'd never said the big L word to one another. Did I feel the same way? Yes, there was absolutely no question about it. I loved Edward Cullen.

"I love you, too."

Edward grinned and bent his head down to kiss me.

"I'm sorry I overreacted about Tanya. I guess I let my jealousy get the best of me," I mumbled, suddenly feeling guilty about my freak-out. I could see now that there had been no reason for worry and I felt terribly silly.

Eventually, we headed back inside and I reluctantly joined Edward on the dance floor. Tanya came up at one point to ask Edward for a dance but to my relief, he declined her invitation.

"I love you, Bella."

"I love you too, Edward."

Then, we kissed and danced the rest of the night away.

-

"Don't believe the things they say about me

And all those things you know I'd never be

You're the only one I wanna do

Everything's new and it's all cause of you."

* * *

**A/N:** Song is "All Cause Of You" - The 88. Review please! :)


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